Students alert! AICTE passes this big order on fees, technical colleges told to obey or face penalty

It is nothing short of great news for students who are struggling hard to do well in academic life and careers.

This new rule was notified by the council recently. (Photo: IE)

It is nothing short of great news for students who are struggling hard to do well in academic life and careers. In a welcoming move to maintain transparency, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) on Thursday asked all technical institutes that are affiliated to it to publish a complete list of fees on their websites. This step is being taken by AICTE so that no student is duped and this way the colleges will not be able to charge students for any other costs. This new rule was notified by the council recently. If a college fails to adhere to the new rule laid down by AICTE, they will then have to pay a fine, the amount of which will be twice the total fees that would have been collected per student. In addition to this new rule, the council is also likely to suspend approval for NRI and supernumerary seats were given to any institution for one academic year.

The new rule also states that once in practice, none of the affiliated institutes will be able to name themselves in a way that the abbreviated form of their name matches the country’s premier institutes, namely- IIM, IIT, IISc, NIT or government bodies such as AICTE, UGC, MHRD, GoI. While talking about the same, a senior official said that the new rules have been brought in to avoid confusion. He added that the naming of institutes of the similar lines than that of the country’s premier institutes is often done to mislead students because of which they end up taking admission in such institutes.

According to the notification, the institution will now have to clearly announce the fees that they are charging from the students on their websites. This way they will not be able to collect any other fees from the students aside from those that are fixed by the state/fee regulatory committee. The college will have to pay a fine in case of violation, the excess amount collected will also have to be refunded to the student.

The notification issued by the council, reads, “The applicant shall also not use the word(s) Government, India, Indian, National, All India, All India Council, Commission anywhere in the name of the Technical Institution and other names as prohibited under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use), Act, 1950.” The notification also extends to foreign universities/institutions operating in India by opening their own centres or having entered into partnerships with domestic institutions.